"Confessing can reveal buried secrets and sins, and Tom Walker's characters in Signed Confessions do a lot of it. A retired naval hero confesses to having neglected his dead wife, who haunts him, and a lesbian daughter, who accuses him. A reporter writing a story on gentlemen's clubs learns more about himself in them than he wanted to know. A chronic failure runs away from his family to join support groups, only to fall in love with a doomed woman in his favorite group and run away again. Every story offers shocking revelations about its characters and sometimes about us, the readers, as well. A surprising and rewarding collection." --Robert Flynn, author of North to Yesterday, In the House of the Lord, and Jade: The Law
"Tom Walker's Signed Confessions is a collection of witty, sardonic, and tantalizingly dark stories that carry weighty matters -- guilt, frustration, anger, manliness, confusion and confession, love, lust, lap dancers -- all in a manner startlingly original and consistently entertaining. Walker is a gutsy and intriguing writer." -- Peggy Payne, author of Sister India, Revelation, and Cobalt Blue
"With a strong narrative voice and impressive details, these stories engage, inform, and, often, amuse. Though my favorite was "Making Amends," I found each story admirable in both style and content.
I've long been seeking some contemporary stories by male writers that will hold the interest of mature students in Literary Excursion courses I teach, and at long last I have discovered in Walker's collection, tales that are challenging, will hold the reader's interest, and, perhaps most important, provide topics perfect for critical analysis.
I will teach this collection to my LIterary Excursion students next spring and anticipate that lively discussion will ensue...a teacher's dream come true!" -- Coleen Grissom on Amazon.com
"I hadn't read a book in some time, so it came as a delightfully pleasant suprise when I picked up Mr. Walker's book and, as the cliche goes, I couldn't put it down! There is a Hemingwayesque economy of words. But the words Mr. Walker uses to tell his stories are the words of a writer & artist who paints characters, images, situations that make you want more & more, even though you have no idea where he'll take you."-- Gary Hollis on Amazon.com
"With the short stories in Signed Confessions, author Tom Walker has given the reader several treats. The seven stories offer a variety of styles and themes from suspense to humor; there is literally never a dull moment in the book. It is apparent they were written by the hand of an experienced and gifted writer -- Tom has a talent for expressing his ideas in ways that are both cogent and accessible." -- William Merrill, Amazon top 1000 Reviewer and Vine Voice
"I met the author at a book reading club I'm part of and listened to him speak about this book and how it came to be, both in his mind and on the page and finally getting it published. I bought the book and absolutely loved it! I don't normally read fiction and hardly ever short stories, but these hit the mark. The unifying theme was guilt and shame and absolution, either achieved or not. The stories are all told from a male character's perspective and they are carrying some heavy, heavy burdens with them. This book is dark and gritty but I think also real and wise. This book and characters speak to the human condition and the struggle to live in depth and humor, I found myself laughing out loud at certain points, probably where I shouldn't have. This book reminded me of what a great pleasure it is to read and immerse yourself in different, but yet the same, world." -- John Lee Grogan, Jr. on Amazon
See additional reader reviews on Amazon
No comments:
Post a Comment